We've all seen the Ubisoft E3 reveal of Watch Dogs, and if you haven't, I don't know what you are doing with your time. Either way, everything about it was magnificent. It was an unheard of game with a completely original game concept. Aiden Pierce, the one they played as in the demo, can theoretically control any electronics in the city? I say theoretically because I know only as much as the demo showed me, which was a small mission out of what I'm sure are a lot. Now, when the gun play came into the spotlight, I thought nothing of it. More guns in a game? I've come to expect it. However, Egoraptor, who makes awesome cartoons, had something a little different to say.
"Watch Dogs had me interested until the guns came out. Like, why is it always necessary? There was such a great buildup in hacking devices I thought that if there was combat it'd involve taking advantage of devices, almost in a puzzle solving way like Ghost Trick. Aren't people tired of taking cover and shooting dudes? It blows my mind that this still excites people."
And after much pondering, it hit me, he's right. There was loads more potential for the original game concept to be used instead of the guns. And that's not to say that there aren't a bazillion other ways to complete a mission, just that it's a little sad to see such potential go to waste. Now I was in agreement with Egoraptor until, suddenly, it hit me again. They had to show the gun play.
People have come to expect good gun play in their video games. I mean, if I were to play Watch Dogs, I would find an approach that used the hack tool of Pierce's to it's fullest. But many other people would prefer to go in there all guns blazing. Ubisoft wanted to catch the attention of the hardcore and the mainstream. If they had shown only the hack tool in use, without guns, then the hardcore would have fallen to their knees to pray to the Ubisoft gods. Alright, maybe not, but it would have been pretty impressive. The casuals, however, would have thought the game to complicated for themselves. At least, my theory is that by showing both the expected shooting and the unexpected hacking, Ubisoft have attracted the largest audience possible.
Consider, for a moment, that Ubisoft is a business first. A business would rather make money from a large group of casual individuals than a small group of core individuals. But the casual group are still consumers that are just as important as the hardcore consumers. Without the casuals, how in the world would Ubisoft fund a triple A game like Watch Dogs? That's why we should just accept that we share our beloved games with casual gamers.
Dear team,
Xbox has always been different.
We started with a simple idea. Games should bring people together through shared experiences. That led to the first Xbox in 2001, Xbox Live in 2002, and new ways to connect, from friends lists and achievements to parties and play across devices. Today, Xbox reaches over 500 million players around the world, with some of the most important franchises in entertainment.
re-evaluating exclusivity 💀
PS players will need to go back to pretending to dislike Xbox games
Or meaning since it’s doing so good they might just do everything day 1.
They didnt say re-evaluating their multiplatform approach.
🤣🤣🤣 Xbox is so dead. I know you scared🤣🫵ӿ 97;
Aww you’re hurt that they’re going back to exclusives!
The mask has slipped… we know you PS gamers LOVE Xbox games
Hurt over video games 🤣🤣
Lmao we all grew and got jobs but apparently you stayed home broke 🤣🤣.
Man I love loyal dogs like you. MS kicked Spit and slapped you around but you still come back on all 4s.
Good little boy 🤣🤣
My only question is what games are PlayStation gamers gonna play now? They don’t really come out with new games anymore. I’m looking forward to wolverine, but after that then what?
Lmao
There’s no way after everything it’s going back, the damage is done
What you are seeing now is the new management telling what the core fanbase (aka…you) want to hear so they are pumped full of hope and are more likely to invest in the next Xbox console
When Phil took over after the awful Xbox One reveal he did the same thing, he told people what they wanted to hear for damage control.
It’s crazy people are getting suckered into this again.
And you'll now go back to again thinking exclusives suddenly matter, that multiplatform is no longer the future, or that revenue from multiplatforms doesn't matter, like all you flop flopping xbox grifters lol.
The whole post just sounds like the previous phil corpo slop talk to me, whole thing reads like a nothing burger lol.
“re-evaluating exclusivity”
She also said this.
“The model that got us here won’t be the one that takes us forward.”
There's a bunch just like him but that's what happens when some rely on dreams, hope and wishful thinking. lol
"pretending"? Bro gears hasnt broke 1mil on ps5, and starfield hasn't passed 200k, Hellblade 2 was even stated to be a financial disappointment in sales on its own console, let alone ps5. Im not saying people don't like them, but they certainly aren't setting the community on fire, Forza may be different tho
Xbawx is ''re-evaluating exclusivity''... Translation: After throwing all sort of crap to the wall to see if something sticks but clearly nothing worked, we, including our lord ''in charge'' Phil came to the conclusion that exclusives indeed do matter so please forget if we ever said otherwise.
Yup, I feel it in my gut, next gen belongs to xbox, PS6 is cooked...
If they go back to exclusive games it at least shows that they are finally getting it. They would be turning down immediate money for something that will potentially workout in the long term.
Only issue is they've already opened Pandora's box. A lot of their base has moved to PC or jumped to PS. So will be a long road to get back on track.
We have been saying this from day one exclusives are a must if you are going to be selling hardware look at Nintendo and Sony before Jim Ryan. That's the proven formula. You had some that were deluded and blinded by loyalty accepting that multiplat was the future and that MS was merely getting ahead of where the industry was headed, but at least they can finally see the light and agree with what everyone has been saying for a decade+
True, blame it on the rabid fanboys. MS can do no wrong and spinner this multiplatform move. While the actual fans moved on.
I feel like with the new Xbox coming they are hoping to bring back those old fans and then if it goes well. Bring back exclusives.
If the new console is performing like series x and one. Naw they staying multiplatform.
Funny world where Sony is pro consumer and Xbox is not? At least according to what you loyalists have been saying all this time 🤭
@itveds For how many years have you been doing this sad stuff? For how many years have you been creating fake accounts to troll? For how many years have you always been cl vnn
I think it's too late, xbox sales were diving even before ABK, they got even worse since then even long before the full multiplatform push. I'd be surprised if they even went back to timed exclusivity at this point, Helix is basically a PC and is going to be expensive, they already struggle to sell cheaper xbox consoles, it will be low volume and they'll have a very small 'console' base to sell to, which has already been conditioned to just play via gamepass anyway.
Despite all of that, it's clear that Microsoft's Xbox division is broken beyond repair.
PlayStation is currently draining money on flop after flop. It's Sony that needs to re-evaluate their strategy
It isnt. But I dont think they mean in 'games', rather, footprint.
They own the OS but as far as gaming is concerned, Steam dominate. I imagine the VAST majority of people who use the Xbox app/launcher are PC gamepass subs. No ones buying their 3rd party PC games through Xbox PC.
Insider Gaming writes: "Marathon was one of the best-selling video games in March 2026 in the United States. On Wednesday, Circna released the best-selling games of the month, and it featured six new releases along with two games returning to the top 20 after previously falling out."
Is it April fools day again?
The game is dead.
EDIT: the numbers are fudged. “digital sales on Nintendo and Xbox weren’t included in the data”
well it's not on Switch / Switch 2.. so their number would be zero.
The game had a decent launch however the userbase numbers are dwindling on Steam.
“ Is it April fools day again?
The game is dead.
EDIT: the numbers are fudged. “digital sales on Nintendo and Xbox weren’t included in the data”
Does it hurt you to hear a SONY game was BEST selling ?
You gotta let go of those OBCURED feelings 🤷🏿
I mean the only reason MLB was the best selling title was because it was multi-platform. Likewise with Marathon. Will ring true for MS games. Only Nintendo titles are truly flexing their muscles when they chart as they are only to be found there.
Yeah sure, yet the player count is no where near what they want for a AAA game with so much money behind it
Why people are trying to spin this game like it’s done overly amazing is baffling to me.
It won’t even be a blip on peoples radars by the end of the year .
The release on Steam of the anime-style gacha-less open-world RPG DragonSword: Awakening is facing a legal challenge from its gacha publisher.
I hope you can approach each mission differently.
So if you want to go in with your AK-47 and blast the suckers then so be it. However if you want a different approach, stealth, hack, take down a few guys with some tools. Then there's that option.
I have a feeling this option will be available. Ubisoft have shown it in many games such as Assassins creed and Ghost recon. There being an option of Stealth or All out attack.
I personally didn't have much problem with the gun battle. I hope I can approach each mission how I want, however every once in a while I do want a bit of action. Not necessarily guns, however some fighting.
The Online is what I'm really curious about. I just can't wait. I hope they can pull it off.
I cant belive there wasn't more reaction to this game, if the game play is real and as diverse as it makes outt his could be a massive game. Graphics and style were excellent too.
Guns are now casual? Missed the memo, sorry. You're probably right that the one of the reasons they showed the gunplay and not just hacking is to excite more than a select few. But saying casuals would have found the game too complicated is silly.
The gun play was the icing on the cake for me. I don't think I would enjoy a game like this without a good combat system - and an open world game with only hand to hand combat or simply escaping situations would not be enough for me. But the most interesting part was undoubtedly the hacking aspect. I do hope they don't just make a game that falls into a mindless shooter because the hacking gameplay mechanic could create a special game.
@StraightPath & Fez
Guns don't only cater to casuals, hence games like Killzone 2 and Bad Company 2, etc. But they are really easy to sell to casuals, hence Call of Duty. I never said that guns were only for casuals, just that casuals prefer guns. It might be too complicated for a casual player to complete a mission entirely through hacking in Watch Dogs.
I agree that this game needs good combat, but it was shown when Aiden beat the guard with his baton, we didn't necessarily need to see the gunplay, it was nice, but we've seen gunplay before. My point is, they should emphasize the hacking aspect because it's being used in an original manner in Watch Dogs. Show hacking as the big feature, show guns later.
This is just what I'd prefer as a hardcore gamer. Consider that their trailer as it is stole the show at E3.